Adapter for an ultra-compact cassette

ABSTRACT

An ultra-compact tape cassette system includes an ultra-compact cassette and an adapter, simulating a standard compact cassette, which allows the cassette to be played in a recorder designed for a standard compact cassette. When the cassette is inserted into the adapter, internal reel brakes are automatically de-activated, and the front door of the cassette is opened, to expose the tape for playing. The adapter further comprises devices which simulate recordable tabs and reflect the recordable status of the ultra-compact cassette.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to magnetic tape devices generally, and moreparticularly to a cassette system for magnetic tape, for example, audiotape.

Audio cassettes have already undergone one level of size reduction; themost popular size of cassette today is referred to as "compact". Smallercassettes are easier to store, handle and transport, and require lessmaterial for manufacture. They also enable manufacturers to reduce thesize of tape players and recorders. Accordingly, further size reductionis desirable. However, in order for smaller cassettes to be accepted, iti s necessary to enable them to be played in existing equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to enable one to play or recordultra-compact cassettes in a conventional compact cassette recorder.

Another object of the invention is to prevent slack from developing inthe tape of an ultra-compact cassette when the cassette is in storage ortransit.

A further object is to convey to a conventional player or recorder therecordable status of the ultra-compact cassette (that is, whether one ormore tabs on the cassette have been broken to prevent recording over thetape).

These and other objects are met by an adapter for adapting anultra-compact cassette to a conventional compact cassette recorder,comprising a housing having a floor bounded by lateral walls and a rearwall, and a hinged door opposite the rear wall, the walls and the doordefining a cavity for receiving the ultra-compact cassette, and a coverfor partially closing the cavity from above, the cover being hinged tothe side walls by respective pivots, a pair of pinions, one fixed toeach pivot so that the pinions turn as the cover is moved between itsopen and closed positions, a pair of rails, movably mounted within thehousing along each of the side walls, each of the rails comprising meansfor engaging the ultra-compact cassette, and each rail having a rack inmesh with a respective one of the pinions, whereby the racks move inunison lengthwise as the cover is moved, so that when the cover isclosed, the ultra-compact cassette is driven toward the rear of thehousing, and further comprising means for engaging the magnetic tape ofthe ultra-compact cassette and for guiding it along a path adjacent tothe door of the adapter.

Another aspect of the invention is an ultra-compact magnetic tapecassette comprising a housing having top and bottom panels, a pair oftape reels within the housing, on either side of a center planebisecting the housing, a pair of circular flanges formed in at least onepanel of the housing, for supporting and centering the respective tapereels, a pair of grooves extending along the inner surface of the panel,each groove having a portion formed in the flange, and extendingtherefrom in a substantially straight line from the flange toward thecenter plane, a pair of elongate members, each extending along andwithin a respective one of the grooves, and having an upturned endseatable in the portion of the groove formed in the flange, means forbiasing each elongated member away from its seated position, whereby theupturned end engages a surface of its respective reel, to preventmovement of the same, and means within the housing for displacing theelongated members toward their seated position, to release the reels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings,

FIG. 1a is an exploded perspective view, looking downward toward thefront of an ultra-compact cassette, positioned for insertion into anadapter constructed according to the invention;

FIG. 1b is a sectional side view thereof;

FIG. 2a is a view corresponding to FIG. 1a, showing the ultra-compactcassette inserted into the adapter;

FIG. 2b is a sectional side elevation thereof;

FIG. 3a is a perspective view showing the cover of the adapter beingclosed;

FIG. 3b is a sectional side elevation thereof;

FIG. 4a is a perspective view showing the adapter fully closed;

FIG. 4b is a sectional side elevation thereof;

FIG. 5a is a perspective view, looking downward from the rear of thedevice, showing a pair of latches for securing the cover;

FIG. 5b is an enlarged view of one of the latches;

FIG. 6a is a sectional view from above the device, showing a lever whichsimulates a recordable tab, shown in a position which permits recordingover the tape;

FIG. 6b is a view like FIG. 6a, showing the lever in a positionpreventing recording;

FIG. 7a is a simplified sectional top view of the ultra-compact cassettebeing installed in the adapted, showing a braking mechanism for the tapereels;

FIG. 7b is a detailed perspective sectional view of a portion thereof;

FIG. 7c is an enlarged sectional diagram of a portion of a device forreleasing the reel brake;

FIGS. 8a, 8b and 8c are views corresponding to FIGS. 7a, 7b and 7c,showing the reel brake released; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a portion of the adapter casing, showingrails inside the housing in detail.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIG. 1a, the invention comprises two major components: anultra-compact cassette 10 and an adapter 12 which simulates aconventional compact cassette. The adapter includes a housing 14, whichmay be injection molded from a plastic material, the housing having afloor 16 bounded by lateral sides 18 with upper flanges 22. The distancebetween the flanges is just slightly greater than the width of theultra-compact cassette, which can therefore be inserted easily into thecavity 24 defined between the sides of the adapter. The rear 26 of theadapter is closed and turned over to form a lip 28, defining a pocket orrecess into which the ultra-compact cassette can slide once it has beeninserted into the adapter. There is a central projection 30 at the rearof the pocket, which initiates release of reel brakes described below.

To retain the ultra-compact cassette within the adapter once it has beeninserted, there is a cover 32 comprising a panel 34 with arms 36extending from either side thereof. The arms terminate at pivots 38, anda pinion 40 is fixed on each pivot, so that the pinions turn as thecover is moved. Each pinion is permanently in mesh with a rack 42 formedon a slidable rail 44, retained within either side of the adapter, asseen in FIG. 9. Each rail has two upwardly and inwardly turned tabs 46,48, one at either end. The rear tab 48 engages behind the rear corner ofthe ultra-compact cassette when it is inserted, initially preventing theultra-compact cassette from sliding back into the pocket. Theultra-compact cassette has a slot 50 on either side corresponding to theinitial position of the forward tab 46, so that these tabs enter theslots when the cassette is placed into the adapter. When the cover isclosed, the arms rotate the pinions 40 through a partial turn, drivingthe rails 44 toward the rear end of the adapter, into the pocket.

Referring to FIGS. 5a and 5b, the cover includes a pair of slidinglatches 52, one at either corner, which can be pushed rearwardly to lockthe cover in the closed position. Each latch has a pair of detents 53,defining its open and closed positions, to prevent unintended movement.

Mounted along the forward edge of the floor of the adapter are: a pairof guide rollers 54 (FIG. 1a), one near either corner of the adapter; anumber of tape guide pins 56; and a spring pad 58 between the centermostpins, for biasing the tape toward a play and/or record head in a taperecorder (not shown). The rollers and pins guide the magnetic tape alonga path parallel to and behind the closed position of the door describedbelow. A beveled opener 60 (FIG. 1b) extends upward from the forwardedge of the floor.

Referring now to FIGS. 6a and 6b, the adapter contains, near either rearcorner, a lever 62, mounted on a vertical pivot axis just inside therear face of the housing. The lever extends laterally outward from thepivot axis, terminating at a probe 64 which has an offset flange 66situated in alignment with a rectangular hole 68 in the rear face of thehousing. The probe 64 senses the presence or absence of a recordable tab(70) on the UCC. An integral leaf spring 74 bears against the inner rearwall 75 of the housing, biasing the lever towards a position indicatingthe tape cannot be recorded over, shown in FIG. 6b. However, thisposition can only be maintained when the recordable tab 70 has beenremoved from the ultra-compact cassette; otherwise, the lever is forcedto the FIG. 6a position (recordable). Thus, the offset flange simulatesa recordable tab on the adapter, and the machine into which the adapteris placed senses the "presence" or "absence" of the offset tab, andpermits or prevents recording, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the ultra-compact cassette 10 itselfcomprises a plastic housing 76 having top and bottom panels 78 with apair of tape reels 80, 82 sandwiched therebetween. Each of the reels hasan inside diameter, or bore, which is loosely centered over opposedcircular flanges 84 extending inwardly from the top and bottom panels,serving as hubs upon which the reels rotate.

To prevent the reels from rotating when the tape is not in use, a pairof stiff wires 86 are situated in respective grooves 88, each at leastas deep as the wire diameter in the upper surface of the bottom panel ofthe ultra-compact cassette. The grooves extend to, and into, therespective circular flanges 84. Each groove is partially covered toprevent the wire from popping out of position. The tip 90 of each wire,the end near the flange, is bent upwardly; the other end is bentlaterally at an acute angle to form an elbow 92 which bears against apin on the lower ultra-compact cassette panel. The wires may move lengthwise along their grooves, between a retracted position in which the tipsengage the inner diameter of their respective reels, to preventrotation, and an extended position in which the tip rests in the groovewithin the flange, out of contact with the reel.

To drive the wires from the retracted position toward the extendedposition, there is an actuator 96 shaped like an arrowhead, mountedbetween stationary guides 98 formed on the bottom panel of theultra-compact cassette. The oblique surfaces 100 on the arrow engagewith the elbows of the wires. The normal position of the actuator isrearward; however, when the ultra-compact cassette is inserted into theadapter, and the cover closed, the projection 30 mentioned previouslypushes the actuator forward, driving the wires along their groovestoward the flanges, and releasing the reels. As soon as theultra-compact cassette is removed from the adapter, however, the wireautomatically retract to prevent movement of the reels.

The front of the ultra-compact cassette is normally closed by a door 102(FIG. 2b), pivoted at its ends along an axis near the top of theultra-compact cassette. A leaf spring 104 biases the door to its fullyopen or closed position. The door has an inwardly beveled lower edge106, so that when the ultra-compact cassette is inserted into theadapter (FIGS. 2a and 2b), the opener 60 on the floor of the adapter canenter behind the door and open it slightly. At this point, the tapewithin the ultra-compact cassette is forward of the guide rollers andpins on the adapter. Then, when the adapter cover is closed (FIGS. 3 and4), the door is fully opened by the opener, and the tape is drawnagainst the rollers, passing in front of the guide pins and spring pad.The adapter, simulating a standard compact cassette, is now ready to beused in a conventional recorder.

To remove the ultra-compact cassette from the adapter, the installationprocedure is reversed. The latches shown in FIG. 5 can be slid forwardto release the cover. As the cover is opened, the rack and pinionarrangement forces the ultra-compact cassette forward, so that it can beremoved from the adapter. The tape is then wound taut by the rotatingaction of a finger on the reel and the front door is flipped manually tothe closed position before the ultra-compact cassette is removed. Assoon as the ultra-compact cassette has been moved forward, its reelbrakes are automatically activated, preventing the tape fromaccidentally unreeling during storage or transport.

The preferred reel braking mechanisms described above are wires;however, rods or other elongate members could be used as well.Therefore, a generic term is used in the claims that follow.

Inasmuch as the invention is subject to modifications and variations, itis intended that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative of only one form of the invention,whose scope is to be measured by the following claims.

I claim:
 1. An adapter for adapting an ultra-compact cassette to aconventional compact cassette recorder, comprisinga housing having afloor bounded by lateral walls and a rear wall, and a hinged dooropposite said rear wall, said walls and said door defining a cavity forreceiving the ultra-compact cassette, and a cover for partially closingthe cavity from above, said cover being hinged to said side walls byrespective pivots, a pair of pinions, one fixed to each pivot so thatthe pinions turn as the cover is moved between its open and closedpositions, a pair of rails, movably mounted within the housing alongeach of said side walls, each of said rails comprising means forengaging said ultra-compact cassette, and each rail having a rack inmesh with a respective one of said pinions whereby the racks move inunison lengthwise as the cover is moved, so that when the cover isclosed, the ultra-compact cassette is driven toward the rear of saidhousing, and further comprising means for engaging the magnetic tape ofthe ultra-compact cassette and for guiding it along a path adjacent tothe door of the adapter.
 2. The invention of claim 1, further comprisingat least one latch for locking the cover in its closed position.
 3. Theinvention of claim 1, further comprising mechanical means for indicatingthe recordable status of the ultra-compact cassette to a conventionalcompact recorder.
 4. The invention of claim 3, wherein said housing hasan opening in its rear wall, and said indicating means comprises a levermounted within said housing adjacent said opening, said lever beingpivotable between a first position indicating that the ultra-compactcassette is recordable, and a second position indicating it is not, saidlever having a portion exposed through said opening, and a probepositioned to engage a recordable tab on the ultra-compact cassette, andfurther comprising a spring for biasing said lever toward said secondposition, whereby, when an ultra-compact cassette is secured in theadapter, said lever assumes a position indicative of the recordablestatus.